


Stargazing

by My_Beating_Hart



Category: Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Character Study, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, References to Depression, Stargazing, is there a tag for writing the same scenario with different characters?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 22:44:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11587704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Beating_Hart/pseuds/My_Beating_Hart
Summary: Chapter 1: Theron and Zev go stargazingChapter 2: Theron and Nate go stargazing





	1. Theron and Zevran

**Author's Note:**

> Whether both stargazing events take place in canon or are just 'what if?' scenarios, I'll leave up to you guys.  
> As always, set in some vague post-Awakening timeline where Zev's back from Antiva and they're a relatively happy OT3.

The keep grounds were quiet as Theron and Zevran made their way down to Velanna’s walled garden, hand in hand. They passed the odd guard at his or her post, but beyond brief greetings the walk was uneventful. They stood in the entryway and stared into the garden that was only lit by the light of the stars. The statues of the elven gods seemed to glow in the dull light, staring out with blank eyes.

“I am surprised that Velanna doesn’t sleep here. She spends so much of her spare time in this garden.” Zevran commented as Theron led the way in.

“She has a room in the keep, you know. I think she’s still adjusting to life here.” He answered as he led the way to the central patch of grass and laid the blanket out on the ground.

“At least we will not have to worry about her emerging from the darkness to interrupt our time together. That is one thing I do not miss about our travels during the Blight, being interrupted so often.”

Theron frowned at Zevran as they sat down.

“I thought we were coming out here to look at the stars? Or have you been planning to seduce me?” He teased.

“Trust me when I say that my intentions are wholly innocent tonight, _amor_. If I wanted to seduce you, I would prefer to do so in the warmth and privacy of a bedroom with a locked door, not out in a walled garden.” Zevran grinned as he lay back on the blanket and wriggled to get comfortable. “The ground isn’t too cold.”

Theron nodded, and joined Zevran in lying down. Out of habit they curled up together, tangling their legs together as Zevran rested his head on Theron’s chest and Theron put an arm around Zevran’s shoulders to keep him close.

Above them, framed by some of the taller-growing plants, the night sky glittered with hundreds of pinpricks of lights. They lay still, taking in the view of the dark sky and stars above them. Theron breathed slowly, feeling Zevran’s warmth as they lay so close together, the weight of his head, the steady rhythm to his breathing.

“Beautiful.” Theron sighed.

“Do you know any constellation names?”

Theron nodded, moving his free hand to run his fingers through Zevran’s hair and behind one ear.

“A few that I can pick out in the sky. Fenrir and Equinor, Fervenial. I don’t know if we’ll be able to see any of them, we’re a lot further north than the Brecilian Forest, the stars have moved.”

“We can still try. If not, I can tell you about the constellations over Antiva.” Zevran offered, his eyes firmly closed as Theron rubbed gentle circles on his scalp. “So, Fenrir? I take it that one is related to wolves?”

“Yes. For the Dalish, it represents Fen’Harel the trickster god.” Theron studied the stars, and extricated his hand from Zevran’s hair to point up at a collection of stars to the west. “The last constellation to show itself after sunset, set apart from the others.” He felt Zevran turn his head to look up at the sky proper, and heard his faint hum of interest.

“And here I was raised thinking it was about a simple wolf.”

“The Crows taught you about the stars?”

Zevran shook his head, and then grinned.

“I am allowed to have hobbies outside of killing people, you know. Or wooing them. Or both. One of these was stargazing. What about Fervenial?”

Theron squinted up at the sky again.

“I can’t… Oh wait, there it is. It’s a bare tree. That group of four stars there make up the trunk. See the three big branches those other stars make above it?”

Zevran nodded as he followed the lines Theron traced in the air.

“It always reminded me of the _Vir Tanadhal_. Each branch represents a different tenet every Dalish hunter must follow if he or she wants to call himself or herself a hunter.” Theron continued.

“Fascinating.” Zevran replied, his gaze on the sky again.

They grew quiet after that. Theron listened to the faint nighttime sounds of the keep around them, the whisper of a cold breeze through the plants around them. Zevran shifted where he lay, curling up even closer to Theron, and eventually sighed.

“You know, I am not really one for stargazing these past few years.” He mumbled against Theron’s collarbone.

“We can go back inside, if you want?”

“No, no. We’ve not been here very long.”

“Alright.” Theron was quiet for a moment. “Do you want to talk about it?” He ventured.

Zevran nodded, but remained silent. Theron looked down at him, and then carefully returned his free hand to Zevran’s scalp. Zevran seemed to relax under the gentle scratching and rubbing, a tension leaving his shoulders that Theron hadn’t even realised had been building up. Theron frowned in concern to himself, but decided not to pressure Zevran into talking before he was ready. Even though the sudden shift in mood was worrying, to say the least.

“I… I enjoy looking at the stars, make no mistake,” Zevran began slowly. “It is simply that when I look up at the night sky spread out above us so, I cannot help being reminded of how small and… And insignificant I am, compared to the hundreds upon hundreds of stars up there across the vast sky. And that feeling of helplessness,” Theron tightened his arm around Zevran’s shoulder, getting an idea of where Zevran was leading the conversation, “reminds me of the Crows. If I do not tread carefully, I can get lost in the depths of my own thoughts, like the depths of the heavens.”

Zevran had moved as he talked, to bury his head in Theron’s chest. Theron could feel a slight dampness soak into the fabric of his shirt, about where Zevran’s eyes were. Theron wrapped his arms properly around Zevran, holding him close as if that would protect him from his own mind.

“Oh, Zev. You’re not helpless. Would a helpless man have gone back and dismantled the Crows alone, Talon by Talon? Would he have risked death so hundreds of children wouldn’t have to undergo the same trials he did? You’re so far from being helpless, or insignificant. And I love you for it, more than I can ever say but I’m going to keep saying it every chance I get. I love you, Zevran.”

They lay there for several minutes until Zevran stopped trembling against him and lifted his head up. He carefully wiped his eyes dry.

“Thank you for such kind words. Forgive me for acting like some hormonal maiden, _amor_. I doubt this is what you had in mind for a private night together looking at the stars.”

Theron sat up and kissed him gently on the lips.

“That doesn’t matter. The stars are beautiful to look at, but I prefer your beauty so much more than a bunch of distant lights in the sky.” He answered, which earned him a weak smile.

“I would be most hurt if you enjoyed the company of the distant stars to me.”

“Then it’s a good thing I don’t.” Theron kissed him again. “We don’t have to stay out here if you’re feeling upset, _lath_. The stars can wait another night.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. We can get a bottle of Antivan brandy from the kitchen somewhere, find a comfortable window seat or chairs by the fire and gossip about the nobility somewhere warm until we fall asleep in each other’s arms.”

Zevran considered it for a moment, and he seemed to be blinking away tears but Theron couldn’t quite tell in the low light. Then he moved so Theron could get to his feet. Theron automatically held a hand out to help Zevran up, and then paused as a memory stirred at the sight. Zevran seemed to remember the same thing as he knelt looking at Theron’s outstretched hand.

“Just like old times, hm? If only we had known back then.” He grinned weakly, before he took the offered hand and stood.

They walked back to the keep slowly, Zevran’s arm around Theron’s waist and Theron’s arm around Zevran’s shoulders, discussing the small things in life.  

 


	2. Theron and Nate

The keep grounds were dark and quiet as Theron and Nate made their way down to Velanna’s walled garden, hand in hand. They passed the odd guards at their posts, but beyond brief greetings the walk was uneventful. They stood in the entryway and stared into the garden that was barely lit by the dim yellow circle of light from the lantern Nate held so he wasn’t walking blind.

Theron led the way in past the beds of growing plants to the central patch of grass, where he set down the old blanket so they wouldn’t be too uncomfortable when they lay down.

“I’m half-expecting Velanna to appear from thin air and chase us out of her garden.” Nate admitted, his voice quiet to match the stillness of the night. Theron scoffed.

“She’s not that antisocial. At least, she wouldn’t be if _someone_ hadn’t told her her ears look clownish.” He answered, and Nate had the grace to look sheepish in the warm yellow glow.

“She started it.”

“You’re _both_ juvenile, can it be settled now?” Theron sighed as he sat down. Nate joined him after a moment, setting the lantern down carefully next to the blanket.

“I’m sure we’ll find something else to bicker about over breakfast. I’d miss the squabbling otherwise.”

Theron chuckled, and lay back on the blanket to look up at the night sky overhead.

“You seem to have a knack for arguing with Dalish Wardens.”

Nate laughed, and then cleared his throat.

“It’s more the fact I’ve had a lot of practice this last year.” He answered as he lay down next to Theron. Theron edged over until their bodies brushed together, and then began to study the stars above them. A comfortable quiet settled over them for a few minutes, aside from the sounds of their breathing and the cool nighttime breeze that rustled the dark plants around them.

“Beautiful.” Theron sighed.

“Mm. They always are. I wonder what Oghren and Sigrun think of them?”

“I know Oghren was surprised by them when he eventually noticed them, but he was surprised by a lot of surface things for the first month or two. Like birds.” Theron smirked at the memories. “For the first few days he was certain we were the ones making those sounds and lying to him about it.”

“What changed his mind?”

“I had to go trap a live bird and bring it to him.”

Nate raised one eyebrow, and turned his head to look at Theron.

“You’re serious?”

“Yes. Then again I suppose he had his reasons to doubt because I teased him about forest gods.” Theron shrugged.

“How cruel of you.”

“Very. What about Sigrun? I know she was already on the surface when we found her, but…”

They were quiet as they contemplated.

“I think Sigrun would have been in awe. I know I still am sometimes, and I’m Dalish.”

“Do you know any constellations?”

“A few that I can pick out in the sky. Fenrir and Equinor, Fervenial. I don’t know if we’ll be able to see all of them, we’re a lot further north than the Brecilian Forest, the stars have moved.”

“I doubt they’ll have moved that much, it’s not like you’ve travelled to Par Vollen.”

“What are the stars like above the Free Marches?”

Nate shrugged.

“About the same, really. There’s not a significant distance between Ferelden and the Marches.”

“Huh.”

“So, Equinor is the one that looks like a horse or a griffon?” Nate asked as he squinted up at the stars above, trying to find and pick out the shape of the constellation.

“I was always told it was a halla, for Ghilhan’nain. It’s horns point south.” Theron commented, waiting until Nate had pointed out the constellation and then gestured to three or four stars above the head, outlining the horns. “That’s one of the ways we find our way while travelling.”

“Interesting. Do you use sextants for that?”

“Sex-whats?” Theron frowned.

“Sextants. You know, the bronze thing you found in the Wending Woods and then gave to me?”

“ _That’s_ what that thing’s for?”

“What did you think it was for?” Nate asked, amusement in his voice as well as his expression as they looked at each other.

“I’m not sure.”

“ _Wow_. Theron, you do know you’re a terrible liar still?”

Theron scowled in defeat.

“I.. May have thought it was some kind of mechanical toy. Like that musical bronto.” He mumbled. Unsurprisingly, Nate laughed. The sound was loud in the quiet of the night, but he calmed down after a few minutes.

“It’s not that funny.” Theron grumbled as Nate wiped away a tear.

“To you, perhaps not.”

“But to answer the sextant question, no we don’t. We use our hands, maybe wooden posts nailed into the ground.” Theron demonstrated, making an L shape with his right hand and aligning it so the halla’s horns rested against his thumb. “The star at the top of the horns barely moves.”

“True south?”

“I suppose so.”

They grew quiet again, Theron relaxing as he lay against Nate and they watched the stars glitter overhead.

“My mother taught me about the stars and constellations when I was young.” Nate eventually broke the silence. Theron looked up at him in the dim lantern light, but Nate’s expression was neutral, giving nothing away. “We’d sit in the library with books from Tevinter and she’d test me on the constellation names.” A pause as he swallowed. “I… When Mother grew sick, I started to wish on all the stars I knew that she’d get better. She didn’t. So I stopped.” His resolve was crumbling now, his expression becoming distant and sad. Theron winced, and rested a hand on Nate’s shoulder comfortingly.

“I’m sorry to hear that. When I was little I used to wish on the stars as well.”

“What did you wish for?”

“That I’d grow into my father’s magic.” Theron glanced down at himself, and shrugged as he forced a smile. “Clearly that didn’t happen. Maybe the stars aren’t meant to be wished on?” He couldn’t help a laugh then. Nate blinked at him in surprise.

“You find that funny?”

“It’s laugh or cry, really.” He shrugged. That got Nate to laugh, as half hearted as it was.

“At least we’ll always have parental issues to bond over?”

“Would you prefer that to our bickering?”

“Maker, no! I like the bickering,” Nate smiled. Theron smiled back encouragingly. “But shall we talk about something more… Mundane? Happier?”

“We could come up with our own names for the stars? I know some of the constellations, but not the stars that make them.”

Nate grinned.

“I used to do that when I got bored of the astronomy books.”

“So you’re a master at it?”

“I like to think so.”

“Alright…” Theron looked up at the stars. He pointed out a bright one just visible over the garden wall. “What about that one?”

“Hm. Florian Valmont.”

“Who’s he?”

“He was some Orlesian emperor.”

“Ah, no-one important.”

Nate smirked.

“Well, I think he was the uncle of the current empress.”

“My point still stands.”

“Not a fan of Orlais, I take it?”

“I was mostly indifferent towards it until the Blight.” Theron shrugged. “Anyway, what about… That star over there?”

“Let’s call it…” Nate frowned.

“Dane?”

“And that dimmer star beside it can be Hafter?”

“Yes. We’re good at this astronomy business.” Theron grinned.

“The _best_.”

“It’s a shame that the moons aren’t out. The night would be a little brighter with them.”

“Perhaps, but the stars look nice enough without them.”

“There’s so many of them, it’s like a tapestry. A very beautiful tapestry.”

Nate hummed agreement, and curled his arm a little tighter around Theron’s shoulder.

“Want to know what else is beautiful?”

Theron turned his head so he was facing Nate, their heads inches apart as they looked at each other.

“I have a feeling I know the answer already, but what?”

Nate grinned, his skin a pale yellow from the lantern behind him, the edges of his form outlined in white.

“You, of course.”

They kissed again, their lips soft and warm.

“That was a terrible attempt at flirting, just so you know.” Theron muttered against Nate’s lips.

“Then my flirting and your lying abilities are on par with each other.”

“Shut up.” Theron retorted, but it lacked any venom. The night was far too serene to spend it bickering.

The human pouted, and rolled onto his side so he was facing Theron completely.

There was the muffled sound of something hitting the ground behind Nate, and the yellow light from the lantern flared alarmingly before it vanished completely in the time it took Theron to blink.

“Did the light go out?” He asked, although it was obvious.

“I probably nudged it when I moved.” Nate mused, and he frowned as Theron sat up and began to lean over him to get the lantern. “Hey, you can leave it. I’m sure we won’t burn down Velanna’s precious garden.”

Theron paused, the lantern handle just within his grasp, and glanced down at Nate.

“But then you won’t be able to see.”

“I’m sure I can trust you to lead me back to the keep unscathed, love.” Nate grinned, remarkably unfazed with the fact Theron was lying across him. “Relax. And maybe get your elbow out of my diaphragm?”

Theron sighed, but returned to lying back on the blanket in Nate’s embrace. His eyes had adjusted to the dark by now, and the stars seemed so much more brilliant for it.

“The stars look clearer without a light getting in the way,” Nate reassured him. “Although, I have to wonder if you have any better ideas for flirting.”

“Zevran spoiled me thoroughly, I’m afraid.” Theron looked at the other man apologetically, and noticed the brief look of alarm that crossed his face. “Are my eyes shining again?”

“Maybe.”

“Surely you’d be used to it by now?”

“I ask myself that every time.” Nate admitted with a heavy sigh, and Theron couldn’t help finding it amusing.

“So, flirting… It depends on what you want to happen. How you imagine the night will go.” Theron shrugged as casually as he could.

“I have a very vivid idea, if you would allow it,” Nate began just as innocuously, but the hand that wasn’t resting on Theron’s shoulder came to rest on his midsection. “ _My lord._ ”

Theron breathed in slowly as he felt the first low sparks of arousal in response to Nate’s low voice, the warmth of his presence. Nate watched him carefully, waiting for either permission or denial and respectful either way, his skin so pale in the faint light of the stars against his black hair.

“I think I will.”

Nate smiled as he sat up in turn and knelt on his hands and knees over Theron. He pressed a deeper kiss to Theron’s lips, but quickly moved on to trail kisses down his throat, fingers picking at the laces on the front of his trousers already. Theron tipped his head back, staring up at the wide sky full of so many stars as his hands moved unbidden to ensnare themselves in Nate’s hair. The stars above were silent in their fathomless tapestry as the lovers loved in the privacy of the walled garden.

**Author's Note:**

> Concrit appreciated.  
> Follow me at https://whatthefenriis.tumblr.com/ if you want.


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